


terminal

by rusticlace



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Sad Ending, fight me, inspired by shaun's terminal, terminal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 12:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18620533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rusticlace/pseuds/rusticlace
Summary: gray encounters the coldest night of his life





	terminal

**Author's Note:**

> this piece was submitted for a national competition and i felt that it'd be nice to post it and add on to the 1000 word limit hehe
> 
> terminal's [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/11170713058/playlist/0jqiNbASbtnqgGyw9fq5KB?si=hOprMxk0SWiRhLge-iiDFA)

The night air is chilly, and sends shivers down his spine. For once, the harsh sting of the early winter manages to seep through his skin—a sure sign of weakness, one that Gray is foreign with. He draws in a deep breath, dusted with ribbons of burning tobacco and cigarette ashes, his eyes dull as he gazes up to the gloomy skies.

Saturday, 1:27A.M. She lies on white sheets, her face paler than ever, toxin rushing through her bloodstream; Gray withers under looming rain clouds, drowns in the silence of despair, and remembers the dazzling smile she had worn earlier that day.

Now, she rests peacefully in the face of Death, awaiting its treacherous claws to drag her down to hell.

"Gray."

His eyes fall upon the delicate frame of a dark-haired woman. She wears a cloak of midnight blue silk, brown orbs glinting even under the starless sky. Gray's eyes narrow at her sudden appearance:

"How do you know my name?" It comes off as a snarl. However, the woman takes no initiative to back down, the sharp click of her heels coming to an abrupt stop only when she has invaded the air he breathes. Gray is startled by their closeness, leaning back on the railings to keep some distance.

"I'm aware that inside that hospital, the doctors are trying to save Juvia Lockser, yes?" She doesn't wait for an answer. "I have a message for you. Follow me."

Her tone is demanding. She spins on her heels and begins to stride away, never once looking back.

"Hey! Wait!" Gray protests, tossing his unfinished cigarette onto the concrete. She doesn't pay a single heed to what he has to say. All she pays attention to is the heaviness of his boots, the crunching of snow beneath his feet—he follows her like a puppy. Even as they walk past the sliding doors, even as they walk into a room full of white nothingness, even as Gray walks in with uncertainty in his heart—

He follows the unspoken promises of  _darkdarkdark_ blue eyes; Juvia's eyes are endless like the ocean, and he finds himself drowning amidst them.

When they walk out of a wooden door situated in the middle of nowhere, Gray finds himself letting out a sigh of relief.

"Where is this?"

"This is Juvia's childhood home," she answers.

Suddenly, there's the breaking of glass. Gray sprints out of the room without a second thought, stumbling back immediately at the sight that beholds him:

There are shards of glass everywhere on the marble floor. A woman with soft curls of sapphire stands at the doorway, yet, her eyes are spiteful as she sends a particularly hard glare to the little girl clinging onto her arm. The little girl struggles with pulling the woman back into the house, eyes brimming, lips quivering.

" _Let me go!_ " With one strong shove, the woman manages to lose the girl's grip on her arm. She storms off, pulling her suitcase behind her in a hurry, yearning to get away from this cursed household. The little girl lunges forward with a sorrowful scream, but accidentally steps on a small piece of glass and collapses to her knee in pain. This time, she does not hold back the waterfall of diamonds that cascade down her rosy cheeks, yelling in vain for her mother to take her as well.

Gray's heart cracks at the sight.

He never knew such tragedy had once befallen someone as optimistic as Juvia.

"Why are you showing me this?" He clenches his fist, feeling himself burn up with rage.

The woman behind him only says: "This is not the only thing."

She makes the first move, heading towards the direction of the blue-haired woman. He saunters past little Juvia who is still kneeling on the pristine marble, her shoulders shaking.

He chooses not to look back as he steps into the heavy rain, for he fears that his heart may not be able to withstand so much grief.

"Look up, Gray."

Look up, he does—Juvia stands under a pink umbrella, watching the rain fall with lost eyes, their old high school campus as her backdrop.

" _Drip. Drip. Drop."_

He vividly recalls this moment: This is the first time they meet. Afterwards, he will run into her and ask about the melancholy clouding her pretty eyes, wonder aloud why the rain is always following her. She will tell him that the world revolves around her in cruel ways, so he boldly swears an oath that he shall keep this rain at bay.

But first, he needs to rush off to class because he is late.

Gray remembers his younger self sprinting off to class while Juvia strolls away, not at all anxious to get to class—

That was the first time in many years that she has seen clear skies.

In that moment as her silhouette glides past him with a small smile, he discovers that he is the reason why  _her_  rain stopped. Childish as he had been, Gray had offered Juvia the one thing she had craved since she was a girl: Kindness. She had grown up believing that she had no worth, not good enough for her own mother's love. Yet, he had waltzed into her life one spring morning like the rain meant nothing. Unlike everyone else she had crossed paths with; those who sneered at her and the presence of her rain, Gray saw her in a different light.

Gray realizes that he had changed the way she saw life with one small promise; he had given her the strength to tear through her monochrome world and see the beauty of this world, bursting with colors.

"Thank you," he mumbles to the dark-haired woman, smile thin, yet full of gratitude.

"It's only just beginning, Gray. Now turn around and go home," she tells him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He gives her one last look before trailing off towards the meadow of flowers, where he finds Juvia waiting for him among beds of full blooms.

Saturated sunlight paints the endless skies, and for once, Gray's heart is full as he threads his fingers with Juvia's.

"Gray," Juvia twinkles at him.

"GRAY!"

He jerks awake, coming to the sharp smell of antiseptic and the sight of white sterile walls. Erza stands before him, her cheeks matching the color of her flaming scarlet hair. She seems displeased at first, but the sternness in her eyes softens into something resembling sympathy. He's seen that kind of look in someone else's eyes when his parents had died; he knew where this was going—

(Juvia can't be gone. She can't just leave him here  _alone alone alone alonealonealonealone_.)

"No!" He shrieks hysterically, pushing himself up immediately.

(Don't say it. Don't make it real.)

"I'm sorry, Gray."

(Gray shatters to the ground.)

Just as Erza finishes these words, a dark-haired woman passes them silently, the ghost of a sinister smile dancing on her lips.

(Gray knows her name.

She is Ultear Milkovich—

bringer of death.) 

**Author's Note:**

> i felt like the ending was rushed (?)
> 
> but yea ultear u meanass bitch, my bitch uwu
> 
> kudos+comments appreciated


End file.
